1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet head that conducts recordings by ejecting ink onto a recording medium.
2. Description of Related Art
An ink-jet head ejects ink by means of, applying pressure to ink using a piezoelectric element, applying thermal energy to ink using a heater, and the like.
According to one of techniques that adopt the latter method, an ink passage formed on a substrate has therein a heating element which generates heat upon driving of a driver IC, and thermal energy thus generated is applied to ink contained in the ink passage (see Japanese Patent No. 2803840). A heat sink having a plurality of fins is provided opposite to the ink passage across the substrate. Since the heat sink dissipates heat, members of the head such as the driver IC, and ink contained in the ink passage are prevented from excessively rising in temperature. As a result, a stable ink ejection can be obtained.
In the above-described technique, however, an ink-jet head disadvantageously incurs a size increase of itself, because the fins constituting the heat sink protrude substantially throughout one face of the substrate.